KOCHI: A mass awareness campaign on the rich heritage of Kochi will be initiated as part of a citizens' movement aimed at getting a Unesco heritage tag for the city, which has several sites of historical importance.
A workshop on ‘Kochi as World Heritage’ was held on Saturday, which was inaugurated by chief guest M K Das, writer and columnist whose latest work ‘Cochin Fame and Fables’ traces the historical importance of the city.
“There are many documents available on the historical facts, but the problem is that the same are not accessible to the common man. I exhort those behind the movement to make available the study data public to create awareness on the need to preserve the city’s legacy,” Das, former resident editor of The New Indian Express, said. His book, which was recently published, captures the essence of the roots of Kochiites and the stories that shaped the bustling city.
“It was in 1998 that the state government first attempted to obtain a heritage label, when it sought a Unesco heritage status for Mattancherry Palace.
However, nothing has happened till now though Mattancherry and Fort Kochi are on Unesco’s tentative list. Now we’ve initiated a citizen-oriented mass awareness programme as part of the movement,” said Dr B Venugopal, former director of the Indian Museum in Kolkata, and the force behind the initiative. “We’ve been organising a monthly lecture series for the past several months as part of the movement. Now we’ve entered the next stage,” said Ramachandran P, secretary, of Ernakulam Karayogam Heritage Committee, which organised the workshop.